Echo
by shipsnotdrugs
Summary: She never thought her life would be boring. Then again, she never thought it would end up like this. Let's just say aliens, couples, disorders, murder, and classic teenage angst really don't mix.
1. Chapter 1

Afternoon sunlight filters through the curtain, stretching its pale fingers over my desk. I blow a loose strand of hair out of my face and go back to work. This latest sketch is really nothing special, just an inky black starry night. No moon, just little twinkling dots stretching out forever. I sigh, wishing I could fly out and join them.

The sound of my father's car parking outside our flat snaps me back to reality. In a matter of seconds, I've shoved all my art supplies in a locked desk drawer, ran down the stairs, and hidden in the bathroom.

"I'm home!" my father announces. I hear his keys jingle as he drops them on the counter. I hear the fridge ding softly as he reaches in for a beer. I hear the clatter of the bottle cap as it comes loose and the alcohol finally reaches my father's mouth. Only then do I dare to flush the toilet, run the water for 20 seconds, and step out. I do not look in the mirror.

"Hi," I say, feigning cheerfulness. "What's for dinner?"

My father looks confused for a second, like he forgot who he was talking to. "Um...I don't know. Try the pantry. I'm going to watch f-football." And with that, he heads into the living room, staggering a bit. It was safe to bet this was his fifth beer of the day and more would be coming soon.

As for me, I reach into the pantry and pull out a rice cake (40). Top it with two teaspoons of spicy mustard (40+10=50) and then you have my dinner. I eat it slowly, carefully. When I'm finished, I poke my head in the living room. My father is already fast asleep, his hangover just starting to set in. I leave a bottle of painkillers and a glass of water next to him before heading upstairs.

Half an hour later, I'm back at my desk, my hair pulled into a damp side braid, clad in gray sweatpants and a red hoodie. Before I can even start shading in a star in the corner, a huge crash erupts from downstairs. I sprint to the landing, only to stop dead in my tracks. Some sort of...thing has managed to bust through the front door and is now pacing around the foyer. It looks weird, like a wolverine, a lizard, and a human had a threesome. I shake my head, trying to make sense of what's going on. It must be the new pills I started yesterday. I should've read the labels better.

Suddenly, the sound of screeching tires and heavy footsteps echoes around the room. Three people barrel through the doorway, pointing guns at the creature and shouting over each other. One man, dressed in a suit and tie of all things, steps forward and fires. It must be a stun gun, I realize, as the thing falls to the ground, unconscious but not dead.

"Well, that was easy," laughs a second man. He's wearing an old military coat (1940s, maybe?) and still clutching his gun. I blink. Two (extremely cute) men have come into my house, knocked out some sort of creature, and seem to find it very amusing. I open my mouth but then close it. What am I going to say to them, anyways?

"Hello?" calls out the third person in a thick Welsh accent. It's a woman with long black hair, her engagement ring catching the light. "Is anyone home?"

Before I can stop myself, I step out of the shadows. "Yeah, hi, it's me. Um, not trying to be rude or anything, but who the hell are you, what the hell are you doing in my flat, and what the hell is that?"

All three of the "visitors" stop, before starting to giggle. I cross my arms, not even slightly entertained. In fact, I'm starting to get a little nervous. For all I know, they could be really sadistic murderers. Finally, it's Military Coat who speaks up. "We're Torchwood. Special ops. We deal with things like that." He points to the creature on the floor. "So, who lives here other than you?"

I level my gaze with his, trying to look confident. "My father," I tell him, starting down the stairs. "He's probably still asleep in the living room."

"Ianto, go check on him," Military Coat says to Suit and Tie. He turns back to me. "What's your name?"

I think about all those school presentations that warned me against talking to strangers. "I'm Echo. Who are you?"

Military Coat grins. God, he's gorgeous. "Captain Jack Harkness."

Engagement Ring gives me small wave. "Gwen Cooper."

"And I'm Ianto Jones," says Suit and Tie, ducking back into the entryway. "Your father appears to be very drunk and a very heavy sleeper. Also, Chelsea is beating Liverpool 3-1."

The other two look at him hard. "What?" he asks.

Gwen shakes her head. "Anyways, we need to leave. Owen and Tosh are going to start getting worried."

Captain Jack nods. "Alright. But first, team meeting." He gestures to the others and they form an awkward huddle.

As they whisper, I try not to look at the creature a few feet away. Up close, it smells like it lives in a sewer. Leaning forward casually, I catch snippets of the group's conversation.

"...deadbeat dad..."

"...dying, I mean..."

"...just one night..."

"...fine, but..."

"Okay!" Captain Jack announces, clapping his hands together. "We've all come to an agreement. Gwen?"

She offers me a small smile. "Well, since it appears that your father is, um, unable to care for you, and this situation is in violation of Rule #12516 of the Torchwood whatever, we're taking you in, at least just for tonight."

I shake my head fast. "No way. I shouldn't even be talking to you at all. I'm not about to just leave my house with you for the night. You realize how shady that sounds, right?"

Captain Jack rolls his eyes. "Either you pack your bags and leave with us or I carry you and Ianto grabs whatever he can find and stuffs it in a bag." The finality in his tone of voice changes my mind.

"Fine," I snap. "Give me five minutes." I run back upstairs, throwing things in an old backpack. This is by far the weirdest sleepover I've ever had to go to. As I pick my cellphone up off the desk, I consider calling the police, but something tells me that a) my story wouldn't have gone over well with the police and b) these guys were probably above the cops anyways.

"Ready to go?" Gwen asks the second I get downstairs. In the few minutes I've been gone, they've managed to clean up the creature, fix the door, and turn off the telly.

I take a deep breath and pull my backpack over my shoulder. "Yeah, I guess. Where are we going?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Welcome to Cardiff, Wales."

I stare out the tinted black windows of the SUV, trying to memorize the way back to my flat in case I need to make a run for it. We finally come to a stop inside a seemingly abandoned parking garage. Across the street sits a small brick building. Looking closer, it appears to be just an office space. "Is this your secret headquarters?" I ask sarcastically.

"It's the main entrance. The actual headquarters are mostly underground," Gwen explains, getting out of the car.

We all walk towards the building together. "So, what exactly does Torchwood do? I take it you're not regular special ops."

"You really wanna know?" Captain Jack looks serious for once. "The city of Cardiff sits on top of a rift in space and time. It's like a door to anywhere or any time in the universe. Sometimes things come out of the rift that the public doesn't necessarily need to know about. Our job is to keep the peace, take care of any unwanted guests, and just generally save the world."

"What comes out of the rift?" I ask, trying to wrap my head around all this.

"Usually, aliens," Ianto replies flatly.

I freeze. How could I have been so stupid? Leaving the house with these nutjobs is definitely going on my list of Top Ten Dumbest Ideas Ever. "Are you kidding me?" I laugh. "There's no such thing as aliens. You're all mental! I'm going home right now." But before I can even take five steps in the opposite direction, a strong pair of arms scoops me up. Captain Jack easily flings me and my bag over his shoulder and keeps walking.

"Damn, how much do you even weigh? Five pounds?" Jack seems perfectly calm for a man currently kidnapping an innocent fourteen-year-old girl.

"I'm going to start screaming in about five seconds unless you fucking put me down," I announce, trying not to sound as terrified as I feel.

"Then I suppose we'll have to just find other ways of silencing you," Jack replies indifferently.

I sigh loudly and start to kick Jack in the side as I walk. "You're not gonna kill me," he says in a singsong voice, which only pisses me off more.

"Do you always find kidnapping girls so funny?" I ask.

"Only if they're cute like you."

Gwen coughs loudly. "Shut up, Jack. We're here."

I wiggle out of Jack's arms and land on the ground in front of a wooden door. Ianto steps past me, unlocks it, and walks in, followed by everyone else. Sighing loudly again, I half-stomp inside the room. It looks like a normal office, with a desk, computer, potted plants, etc. "Is _this_ your secret headquarters?" I ask.

"No," Ianto replies, pushing a button underneath the desk. "This is." Suddenly, a section of the brick wall behind the desk moves to the side, revealing a small hallway and another door at the end. I follow the group through the door. It slides automatically to the side, setting off an annoying alarm.

"Gwen? Jack? Ianto? Is that you?" a woman's voice asks.

I look up to try to find who's talking, but suddenly stop. We're inside a massive room, with different kinds of doors everywhere. A staircase winding throughout the building leads up to the second floor, where a short but pretty Asian woman is looking down at us.

"Yeah, hey Tosh," Gwen replies, stepping over a huge stack of papers and assorted electronic pieces and starting up the stairs.

As I walk up, I take in the messy state of the building. Not exactly the kind of place you'd expect such important people to work in. Then again, most important people didn't kidnap and hit on girls. We stop in front of a huge set of three computers. The woman from before, Tosh, sits behind them, typing away furiously. "I see you've picked someone up along the way," she says, not looking up from whatever she's doing.

"Yeah, but at least it's a girl and she's cute," Jack replies.

"Jack," Gwen says warningly. "Tosh, we need to talk. With Owen, too."

"I heard my name?" A man appears at the top of the stairs, dressed in a white lab coat and holding a scalpel.

"Owen. How nice of you to grace us with your presence," Jack says, walking past him and into another room with a long table and chairs and a screen on the wall. "It's time for another team meeting."

Everyone starts to file into the meeting room, but Jack stops me at the door. "Wait out here, okay? This'll only take a minute."

I nod, but the second the door shuts, I place my ear up to it. Everyone's voices are muffled, but I can still make out all of them talking over each other.

"Who the hell is that?"

"She told us her name is Echo. That rogue Weevil we were hunting broke into her house. It was just her and her dad in there. That guy was an alcoholic if I've ever seen one. We couldn't leave her there without retconning her, and I don't know, I just couldn't. Okay?"

"Fine. I don't know if he's starving her or she's starving herself, but she's going down a bad path. Professional medical opinion. Even if we save her now, she's not going to last long."

"Which is why she probably needs to stay."

"Where are we going to put her anyways?"

"One of the downstairs bedrooms. It'll be fine, I promise."

"How long is she going to be staying?"

"I don't know, alright?"

"You know what, fine."

"Go get Echo, then. Someone needs to explain to her that she's going to be here for a while."


	3. Chapter 3

I open my eyes slowly, trying to cling on to those last few shreds of sleep. Suddenly, I remember where I am: a small bedroom below the main building of Torchwood. I'm still not entirely convinced they're all not murderers, but I suppose Tosh and Ianto are pretty nice as psychopaths go. Finally, I drag myself out of bed, stretch, and head out of the room, taking the stairs two at a time.

"Hello?" I call out, hoping they didn't really leave me all alone.

"Good morning!" It's Jack, cup of coffee in hand, sounding way too cheerful for eight o'clock in the morning.

"Oh, hi," I say flatly. "Can I go home now?"

"Nope! You want some coffee?"

I sigh loudly. "Yeah, sure, fine, as long it's not poisoned."

"Ianto!" Jack calls over his shoulder. "Echo would like some coffee, too."

I blink once, confused. I got the impression everyone at Torchwood had their own flats. "Why is he..."

"Come on up if you want your cup," Jack interrupts quickly, gesturing for me to follow him.

I hurry up the stairs, accepting the coffee from Ianto before sitting down in Tosh's chair in front of the computers. I take a slow, measured sip. "This is really good."

"Thank you. Coffee-making is my main job," Ianto says, smiling slightly.

I nod. "So what are the other jobs at Torchwood?"

"Well, I'm the boss, obviously," Jack says, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on a desk. "But Tosh usually handles anything electronic, Owen's our medic, Gwen usually takes care of the actual-human-interaction part, and Ianto does anything else."

"Do you guys keep aliens here?" I ask. If they really are alien-hunters, then they should be able to prove it.

"Sure, in the vaults," Ianto replies. "Want to go see?"

Five minutes later, we're all standing inside a long hallway. Little cells line the walls, a plate of glass with holes in them separating us from whatever's inside. One cell holds one of the weird wolverine-human-lizard things that broke in my house last night. Was it really just last night? It seems like years ago. The thing growls at me, snapping me back to reality. I shrink back and bump into the wall behind me.

"We're not really sure what these are," Jack explains, "but we call them Weevils. There's hundreds of them living in the sewers below Cardiff. Usually they leave people alone, but every once in a while one of them wanders off and causes problems."

I nod slowly. So maybe everyone here isn't as crazy as they seem. I mean, I watch the news. I know weird stuff has been going on lately.

"Still think we're just a bunch of insane government-funded weirdos?" Jack asks, nudging my shoulder.

"Well, I still think you're a bunch of government-funded weirdos," I reply, trying to keep a smile off my face. "But maybe not so much on the insane part."


	4. Chapter 4

My father thinks I'm on a school field trip. My school thinks I'm sick with the flu. Next week, we'll think up a new set of lies.

I count the days with calories. Every day at 3:00 precisely, I step on the scale to measure my sins and weigh my faults. 110. 105. 100. 95. The numbers had already been ticking down for months, but it's never enough. I wake up late to skip breakfast, make myself too busy for lunch, and eat the bare minimum at dinner. Everyone notices. Nobody says anything.

Mornings consist of helping Tosh by typing files and handing her spare parts. It's easy and keeps me occupied. Sometimes we talk, but never about Tosh's life before Torchwood or my home situation. I've learned a lot about some of these aliens in the past week, and let's just say I'm glad there's professionals working on it. Well, if you could call the Torchwood team professionals.

I went out with the team once when they were all tracking a gang of blowfish-headed aliens. They were hiding out in an alleyway, setting things on fire and scaring old ladies. Ianto, Tosh, and I stayed in the SUV. I think Jack's words to the gang were something like: "You're freaking out someone's grandmother. Go to the countryside and bug the cannibals."

Needless to say, one of the blowfish-heads fired a warning shot. Into Owen's shoulder. I was later told that was the third time Owen had been shot recently. Gwen immediately freaked out and Jack just started firing randomly while yelling for them to stay away unless they wanted to be the ones bleeding on the floor. Back in the van, we were laughing our heads off - I mean, we were very concerned. After a couple of hours at the hospital, everybody was fine and we headed back to the hub while the rest of the team tried to convince me that "not all of these outings went like this."

It's been a full week now, and I hate to say it, but I love it here at Torchwood. It sounds cheesy and stupid and stereotypical, but most of the time, I'm legitimately glad they kidnapped me.


	5. Chapter 5

I tap my pencil against the table, trying to make sense of these blueprints.

I'm helping Tosh build some sort of security thing to put outside of the main entrance. Unfortunately it also has about 500 different parts and a sonic-manipulator-thingy. Gwen, Tosh, and Owen went out to lunch at some new Mexican place just around the corner. I declined, partly because of how unhealthy the food is and partly because the English are famous for awful foreign food.

Jack and Ianto are in Jack's office, looking over some alien paper thing that turned up at an archaeological dig, but I doubt they'll ever get anything done. It's no big secret that they're at least sort of a thing. I asked Gwen about it and all she did was shush me and wink, which basically confirmed it.

Suddenly, the phone starts ringing. From the next room, Ianto shouts, "I'll get it!"

I swivel around in Tosh's chair, looking through the glass into the office. Jack sits with his back to me on the edge of the desk, the paper still in one hand. As Ianto talks, though, his expression becomes more and more concerned. Finally, Ianto hangs up and says something to Jack, whose face goes pale. He says something back and then leaves the office. I turn back around, pretending to be interested in the various parts strewn around me.

"Echo!" Jack calls, stopping just short of Tosh's desk. "We need to talk. It's about your dad."

My heart stops for a second. "What...what is it?"

"He's dead." The answer is flat, emotionless. "He was driving drunk and hit someone turning a corner. He was on the bridge heading into Cardiff and we think he might have been coming to look for you."

I freeze, mind racing. "I don't believe you. You're lying!"

Jack almost seems like he's going to cry. "I wish I was. We can take you to the scene if you want."

"How about we go do that," I reply, my voice taking on an icy tone. My dad can't possibly be dead. I unlock my phone, only to find that I have a new voicemail. I click on it. My father's voice fills the silent room.

"Hey...um...Echo," he says, his words extremely slow and slurred. "I need you to help me with, um, something, so I'm going to Cardiff to...to pick you up early from that school field trip. See you s-soon." There's a click, and the line goes dead.

My heart stops for a second, but I finally take a deep breath. I'm not crying. Not right now. "Come on. Let's go. Now."

Ten minutes later, we turn the corner onto St. Mary Street. I try to take in the scene in front of me. A gray car sits on the side of the road, the entire front smashed in. Next to it, a woman in high heels paces back and forth, screaming and crying into her cell phone. Across from the woman is a car I recognize as my father's, flipped completely upside down, smoking pouring out from under the hood. I finally burst into tears as I see two paramedics wheel a stretcher away from the car. My father's head pokes out from under a white sheet, his blank, glassy eyes staring up at the early morning sky.

"Oh my God," I whisper. "You were serious."

Jack wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in close. "I'm so sorry, Echo," he says. For some reason I don't try to pull away. We just stand there for a moment, watching them load up the ambulance and drive away, the sirens no longer blaring.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye," I say, my voice breaking.

"That was my fault. Again, I'm sorry."

I shrug, blinking back tears. "It's fine. I don't want a funeral, though. He doesn't have any friends, family, or a job or anything. Let's just cremate him, scatter his ashes in the pond behind the liquor store, and move on."

"It's up to you," he replies, squeezing my shoulder.

"Thanks," I say. The whole way back to Torchwood headquarters, the only sound is me sniffling. I don't have a dad anymore. I don't have any family anymore. I'm all alone in fucking Cardiff.


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of the week passes by slowly.

I spend all day in my room, sketching anything that comes to mind. After I finish a piece, I pin it on the cork board hanging on the far wall. Black holes, lonely gray trees, and cloudy landscapes hang from green pushpins. At night, I wander around the hub, exploring and reading files. Most of it is classified, but I don't really care. What are they going to do, fire me? I don't work here and I've got nowhere else to go. I barely sleep and barely eat. Tosh calls it grief. I call it defeat.

Now, it's four in the afternoon, two weeks and one day since I arrived at Torchwood. I'm perched on the edge of my desk, trying out a new pallet of watercolors Ianto gave me yesterday. Suddenly, I stop mid-stroke. A strange whooshing, grinding sound appears to be coming from outside the hub. I quickly pull on a pair of combat boots, grab my phone, and run upstairs.

"Jack? Gwen? Anyone?" I yell, wondering if they all got called away for an emergency.

After a second, the sound of footsteps coming out of the office tells me I'm not alone. "Yeah, it's just me here right now," Jack says, tugging on his coat as he walks.

"What's that noise outside?" I ask, following him towards the door.

"It's nobody," Jack replies quickly. "I'm just going to take a look."

I stop for a second. He said 'nobody,' not 'nothing.' I clear my throat. "Well, in that case, can I check it out with you? I hate being alone in here."

Jack stops at the opening door, turning to face me. "No. Stay in here. Don't leave the hub. Understood?" And with that, he starts down the hallway.

Maybe I've finally reached the second stage of grief (anger, according to Tosh,) but I suddenly snap. Who does Jack think he is, my father? He isn't the boss of me. "Are you fucking serious?" I ask.

"No, I'm fucking Ianto!" Jack calls over his shoulder just as the door shuts behind him.

I close my eyes, mind reeling. I don't have time to wonder about Jack and Ianto. I need to calm down. Right now, there's something outside and Jack's trying to hide it. Could be dangerous. Probably is. Gwen warned me that he runs off sometimes and nothing good ever comes of it. Finally, I open my eyes, wait ten seconds, and then run through the door.

Stepping out into the cold, cloudy day, I press myself against the brick wall of the office, barely turning my head around the corner of the building. Everything around me seems to stop.

Sitting on the pavement barely 100 feet from the hub's base is an old 1960s police box. I didn't know they made those any more; in fact, I'm sure they don't. The box is big, blue, weighs at least a ton, and was not there half an hour ago. Even stranger are the two people stepping out of it. Neither of them are policemen. One of them, a young blonde woman in jeans and a fitted pink sweatshirt, immediately runs up to Jack. They both embrace and start smiling like they know each other and have just been separated for a while.

The other person, a tall, skinny man with wild brown hair and a blue suit, laughs and says something to Jack. They both hug, too. The man in the suit motions for Jack to follow them, and they all step inside. My eyes widen. Jack can't be leaving, not now. Hell, I'll get in trouble for letting him leave! I sprint across the sidewalk, hoping I'm not too late and that I don't look too crazy. Stopping at the front of the police box, I knock three times.

After a moment, the door opens. It's the woman in the pink sweatshirt. "Hi, can I help you?" she asks, her voice light and kind.

"Actually, yes," I reply, trying to sound equally cheery and normal. "I need to talk to Jack. Now."

Suddenly, the other door swings open. Jack pulls me in quickly, shutting both of them behind us. "What the hell, Echo?" he demands. I still don't know why he's so angry and secretive about all this. Is something else going on? "I thought I told you to stay in the hub!"

I set my jaw. "Yeah, well, I can't just have you running off with random people in a 1960s police box, either. Everyone would freak out and blame me. Especially Ianto."

Jack sighs. I seem to have struck the right chord. "Alright. Fair enough. Sorry for getting upset."

"It's fine," I reply, wondering why Jack's having all these mood swings. "So, are you going to introduce me to your friends now that we're all here?"

The woman in the sweatshirt clears her throat. "I'm Rose. Rose Tyler."

The man in the suit runs up next to Rose and gives me a small wave. "Hello. I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor who?" I ask.

"Just the Doctor. And, sorry, what's your name again?"

"Echo," I tell him. "Just Echo."

The Doctor smiles. He's a real cutie, too. I try to focus. "Well then, Just Echo, welcome to the TARDIS!"

I look around the room and suddenly realize what I didn't notice before. The room we're in is huge, at least three times the size of the actual police box. In the center of the room is a massive blue-green cylinder surrounded by a huge control center full of levers and buttons and screens. On the far side of the room, a few doors branch off into their own sections.

"Wow," I gasp.

"TARDIS," the Doctor says, leaning against the wall. "That stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. In short, it's my spaceship that can go anywhere in space and time. And yes, it is bigger on the inside."


	7. Chapter 7

Steam rises from the mug, freezing against my cold cheeks. When I take a sip, hot and delicious tea warms me all the way to my toes. "This is really good," I tell Rose, who smiles at me.

"Well, it's nice when the TARDIS comes with a kitchen full of tea bags," she replies.

I like Rose a lot. She reminds me of a combination of Tosh and Gwen: smart, cute, outspoken, and loving all at the same time. She and I have been talking for almost two hours now while Jack and the Doctor catch up. Rose tells me all about how one day the mannequins at her shop literally came to life and started attacking her. She'd been rescued by this man "who called himself the Doctah." They ran off in the TARDIS together, going from Queen Victoria's rule to the actual end of the world. I remember reading about how Queen Victoria established Torchwood to deal with aliens, specifically the Doctor. It also turns out Rose had met Jack at the height of the London Blitz during WWII. Apparently Jack tried to con the Doctor and her into buying a spaceship, and, at the end of their time together, he died. Well, sort of.

"Wanna know a secret?" Rose had whispered. She leaned forward, eyes glittering. "It's kind of hard to explain, but did you know that Jack is immortal? He can't die. Ever. Trust me, we've tried."

I had laughed at that, but on the inside, I was worried. Would Jack have to stay behind once all of us were gone? Would we age without him? I refocused on Rose. She told me they'd stopped in Cardiff so the TARDIS could recharge using rift energy when Jack and I had stopped by, and now here we were.

"So, what's your story?" Rose had asked. "How did a little suburban girl like you end up at Torchwood?"

I told her about how when I was about eight, my mom had left my father because he was basically an alcoholic. I'd always just grown up around his drinking, getting good grades but never getting involved or making friends. I leave out the part where I was bullied every day; kids called me any name they could think of. Stupid, fat, ugly, loser. I finally started dieting just to try to stop them. But I skip past that, telling Rose about how one day a Weevil had broken into my house, causing me to cross paths with the Torchwood team. After my dad died, I started living at Torchwood full-time and now I'm almost a part of the group.

By the time we finish talking, it's already starting to get dark outside. "Thanks for talking with me," I tell Rose now, "but I really have to go. Everyone's going to start getting worried about me."

Rose nods. "Yeah, that's fine. Let's go find the Doctah and Jack."

Back in the main area of the TARDIS, the other two are trying to fix something under the control panel, which is slightly smoking.

"Jack!" I call out, hurrying over. "We need to get back to the hub soon. It's already after sunset."

"Alright, fine." Jack pulls himself off the floor, handing a wrench to the Doctor. "So, when are you coming back to Cardiff?"

The Doctor seems to think for a second. "Tomorrow. Rose and I are taking the TARDIS out for a test flight before we head out for good again."

Jack nods, but his eyes look almost sad. "Okay. I'll see both of you back here tomorrow, then."

Rose and the Doctor nod in unison. "But you know," the Doctor says, raising his eyebrows, "If you wanted to come on one last adventure..."

"I can't," Jack interrupts. "I've got to look after my team."

I, however, have no current responsibilities. "Adventure? Can I go on one?"

"Sure!"

"No."

Rose turns to Jack. "Come on," she teases. "Let her have a little fun. We promise to bring her back in one piece."

Jack looks at Rose, then the Doctor, and finally back at me. "Fine. Same time and place tomorrow. Don't be late and be safe." He takes my hand, squeezes it once, and then turns on his heel and leaves, the door loudly clicking shut behind him.

"Alright!" the Doctor says, clapping his hands together. "Miss Echo. The choice is yours. Where would you like to go on your very first journey through time and space?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Year: 5020. Location: Planet K256. We're currently about a hundred light-years away from Earth. This area is widely known for its beautiful beaches. You said somewhere with an ocean view. Sound good?"

I pick myself off the floor of the TARDIS. It was a bumpy ride, to say the least. "Yeah, that sounds perfect, actually. Does anything live around here?"

Rose, after getting to her feet, looks over at a screen. "This says it's uninhabited except for some natives."

"Good," says the Doctor. "Then nobody will be around to spoil the view."

I hurry over to the TARDIS door, flinging it open, only to freeze in awe of the beach in front of me. The sun is just starting to set on the horizon, casting long orange shadows over the sparkling, bright blue water. Ocean waves lap against the shore, barely reaching the pure white sand. "This is beautiful."

Rose steps past me. "Wow. It really is. Come on. Let's go down to the water."

With the Doctor trailing behind us, we walk out of a forest of palm trees and make our way down the sandy beach. I stop, letting the water pool around my ankles. It's almost cold and feels amazing. "I don't think I've ever been anywhere this nice."

"It is very nice, though, isn't it?" the Doctor asks, looking out across the water. Suddenly, an earsplitting shriek fills the air.

I whip my head around, back towards the trees. A group of what looks like about eight human-like things stand at the edge of the forest. Their skin is red, they wear all black, and each have pulled a large, obviously alien gun on us.

"Guys, what are we going to d-" I don't get to finish my sentence. One second, I'm standing on the beach, watching one of the aliens draw back his or her gun. The next, I'm laying on the sand, pain shrieking out of my shoulder. There's a strange ringing in my ears, and I feel hot, sticky liquid soaking through my shirt. I think it's my blood.

My vision is slightly blurry, but I watch as the Doctor pulls something out of his coat and presses a button on it. All the aliens immediately drop their now smoking and broken guns and run away. He turns back to Rose and me, a worried look spreading across his face.

"Oh my God. Doctah. Echo's shoulder." It's Rose, who sounds as freaked out as I feel. "I think she went into shock. We need to get her back to the TARDIS."

The Doctor nods, then leans over and picks me up. He starts to half-run across the sand, each footstep sending more sharp, stabbing pains through my shoulder. I want to scream, but my mouth won't move. I can't move. All I can do is stare and hope I don't die right here and now.

We finally reach the TARDIS, and soon I'm being carried down a long hallway into the first room on the left. The Doctor quickly sets me down on top of a bed with a blue quilted comforter. I feel bad, knowing that the blood might not wash out of it. "Rose, stay with Echo. I'm taking us back to Cardiff. Hopefully it'll be around the time Jack's expecting us." He turns around and starts to leave, but Rose jumps up and grabs his arm.

"Hurry, okay?" she says. The last thing I see before everything goes black is Rose leaning forward to kiss him.


	9. Chapter 9

"Guys! She's waking up!"

Oh my God. My head feels like it's slowly expanding, ready to burst. My shoulder feels like it's been ripped open and shredded. The rest of my body fills with a dull, thudding ache.

"Hey! Echo's awake!" My brain is fuzzy, but it registers the voice as Owen's. Make sense. He's the medic here, right? He deals with gunshot wounds all the time.

My eyelids flutter open. I'm in the medical area of the Torchwood hub, screens and machines blinking and beeping all around me. The weight of what must be a bandage presses down on my shoulder. The same goes for my head.

Owen, looking surprisingly professional in his white lab coat, attaches a bag of fluid to an IV running into my arm. "Painkillers," he says matter-of-factly. "Because your shoulder is going to start hurting like hell. Trust me, I know."

I try to nod as much as I can without my head exploding. "Thanks for all the help, and, you know, saving my life." My voice sounds cracked and hoarse.

Before Owen can respond, Jack hurries into the room, stopping at the sight of me. "How you feeling, kid?" he asks, trying to sound confident.

"Like shit," I reply, cracking a smile. "Looks like you're no worse for wear."

But then Jack steps further into the light and my smile quickly melts. His eyes are red and bloodshot, like he hasn't been sleeping while trying not to cry. All down the front of his (probably original) coat are thick smears of blood. My blood.

"Oh God. I'm so sorry, Jack. I didn't see-"

"Hey, no worries," he says, giving me a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Someone had to carry you, and something told me it wasn't going to be the Doctor."

Moments flash before my eyes. Rose screaming, demanding that I stay with her as I slipped farther and farther away. The Doctor running around, trying to explain what was going on as he held a cloth to my wound. Jack picking me up and carrying me out of the TARDIS. I vaguely remember it leaving. I blink, coming back to reality, where Jack is now sitting next to me.

"...they asked me tell her. Give me two minutes."

Owen mutters something back, but he finally goes upstairs, leaving the two of us alone.

"Okay, Echo," Jack starts right as Owen gets out of earshot. "You lost a lot of blood, obviously. Enough that you need a transfusion. Lucky for you, the only person in here with the same blood type as you is me, so maybe you'll wake up ten times sexier."

I roll my eyes, but he goes on. "But we don't know what's going to happen, given both our current situations. But let's not worry about that. Owen wants to operate on you right now before you get any worse. Is that okay?"

I half-nod, trying to make sense of all this. "Yeah, that's fine, I guess."

"Good," Jack replies, "because we've already mixed in a sedative with your painkillers."

All of a sudden, I start to feel very tired. "Well, before I pass out or whatever, I have one thing to ask."

Jack inclines his head forward. "Sure. Go for it."

"'No, I'm fucking Ianto!' You said that...I guess a few days ago. Anyways. Really?"

Jack tries to look serious, but his ears start to turn pink and he's fighting a smile. "How about this: if you ever mention that, I'm taking my blood back."

I laugh, even though it hurts. "Deal." And that's when the drugs finally pull me under.


	10. Chapter 10

I bring the knife down quickly, watching the innocent cucumber split straight down the middle. After I finish slicing it into countless tiny pieces, I shove it into a bowl next to me. Tosh said working my shoulder would be good physical therapy, even if it hurts. She also said she needed help making dinner. So here I am.

As I reach forward to grab a tomato, my arm suddenly seizes up. A weird feeling spreads through it, like it's knitting itself together. I yank up the sleeve on my shirt and rip the bandage over it off. Gasping, I ignore the sting as I realize what happened. My shoulder is healed. No bullet wound, no scar. It's like I never got shot. I poke the skin. Nothing.

"Echo!" I jump at the sound of Gwen's voice. I forgot I was supposed to be finishing the salad by now. Quickly, I shove the bandages in the trash can below the sink, pull my sleeve down, and start to slice the tomato just as the door opens.

"Echo, you alright?" Gwen asks, leaning against the countertop.

"Yeah, sorry," I reply, trying to sound nonchalant. "The salad will be ready in one minute."

"Okay. Ianto went out to go pick up pizza, too. It's just going to be us three and Jack tonight." Gwen wiggles her eyebrows. "Owen and Tosh both said they needed to leave early."

I smile a little bit, unsure if Gwen is jealous or happy for them. "See you in a second, then."

Gwen nods. I listen to her footsteps retreat up the stairs before I hurry and finish the salad. Five minutes later, I push open the door to the meeting room. Jack sits at the head of the table, laughing about something Gwen just said.

"Hi, salad's here," I announce, setting down the huge bowl on the table next to a stack of assorted plates and silverware.

"Looks good," Gwen replies. There's silence for a few minutes as everyone starts to load up on salad. I scoop approximately one cup (35) onto a plate and take a small bite.

There's a small click as the door opens.

"Pizza?" Ianto asks, setting down a couple boxes on the meeting room table.

Everyone jumps up, pulling out a couple pieces each and digging in. I stare hard at a slice of pepperoni (200+). I shake my head. I don't need that pizza. I don't want that pizza.

"Echo, you gonna have some?" It's Jack, holding out a paper plate to me.

I smile halfheartedly. "No thanks. I'm not hungry."

"Hey. Eat this," he says in a warning tone.

I shake my head. "Seriously. I'm not hungry."

Jack's voice takes on a sharp, suddenly pissed edge. "Eat the goddamn pizza."

"I. Do. Not. Want. Pizza." I meet his gaze, my eyes just as steely.

"DAMMIT ECHO!" Jack's full on yelling now. The room has gone silent. No one says anything as he continues on. "You never eat. I'm tired of ignoring it. Have you even looked in a mirror lately? You look like a Holocaust survivor. Trust me, I've met a few. Now unless you want something to actually be done about all this, you better fucking eat something. NOW."

Tension hangs thick in the air. I open my mouth to scream something back, but nothing comes out. Tears prick the corners of my eyes. I will not cry in front of everyone. Turning on my heel, I sprint out as fast as I can, heading straight to my bedroom. I slam the door behind me, hard, so I know Jack will hear it, before collapsing onto my bed.


	11. Chapter 11

I turn over and squint at the clock. '12:30 AM' winks back at me in big red numbers. I sigh, rolling out of bed. Yanking my boots on, I step out of my room, letting the door shut quietly behind me.

When I get to the second floor, I peek behind the wall next to Tosh's computers. One small light is still on in Jack's office. I can just barely make out his silhouette, sitting at his desk, reading something. So Ianto's not here tonight. Good. I'd hate for them to find me walking around the hub in my nightie. I finally stop at my usual insomniac hangout. It's a piece of the floor that doesn't have any railing around it, just a straight path to the ground thirty feet below. I sit at the edge, kicking my feet over the side and starting to think.

Ever since I got that blood transfusion four days ago, things have been weird. First it was when I accidentally cut my finger on a metal piece of something I was working on for Tosh. The cut was bloody for a few seconds but almost instantly healed up, leaving no trace of anything behind. Now my entire shoulder was fully recovered from a major bullet wound. Something Rose said to me the first time I met her comes back to me. "It's kind of hard to explain, but did you know that Jack is immortal? He can't die. Ever."

Maybe...no, that's stupid. Okay, so I have quite a bit of Jack's blood in my veins. That doesn't mean at all that I've somehow magically become immortal. But what else could be the reason behind my body suddenly being able to repair itself? I sigh, looking down at the concrete floor beneath me. There really is only one way to find out.

And I suppose it doesn't really matter whether I can die or not. After what happened at dinner, I doubt Jack will let me keep staying much longer anyways. I push myself to my feet, trying not to get too scared. It's not like I haven't tried this before. Seventh grade, bottle of pills. Didn't work. I just passed out and threw up a lot. Maybe this will turn out okay. Who knows, maybe I am immortal. If not, I won't have to worry about being kicked out.

Before I can think any more, I take a deep breath, hold my arms out next to me, take one step forward, and jump.


End file.
